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TOYING AROUND: Captain America, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Thor & More!

Marvel had a great showing this week. Not only did “Captain America: The Winter Solider” open, but a variety of new House of Ideas-based collectibles stole the spotlight. In addition to new Hot Toys “Captain America” deluxe figures, Funko showed off theor “Guardians of the Galaxy” Pop Vinyls and Sideshow Collectibles revealed Thor and Throg statues! Plenty of other companies and properties were announced as well as a few April Fools’ gags that are worth checking out.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLIDER | To honor a true American hero’s return to the big screen this weekend, Hot Toys showed off more “Captain America: The Winter Solider” figures. The 1/6 scale line adds not only a Chris Evans-based Steve Rogers, but also Cap in his S.H.I.E.L.D. Stealth S.T.R.I.K.E. suit that can be picked up as a 2-pack. Each feature a newly sculpted head, real fabric costume and a shield for added heroics.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY | With “Winter Solider” hitting theaters this weekend, the world will already be looking ahead to Marvel Studios’ next offering, “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which lands on Aug. 1. Funko will have a variety of collectibles for fans of that film thanks to waves of Pop Vinyl toys as well as Wacky Wobblers. The first wave of Pops include Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, Groot and Drax, plus an Amazon-exclusive maskless Star-Lord. Peter Quill and his talking alien pal Rocket Raccoon also get shaky with a pair of Wacky Wobbler bobbleheads.

THOR | The movie version of Thor might be taking it easy between Thor: The Dark World and “The Avengers: Age of Ultron,” but that doesn’t mean he’s not still active in the world of comics and statues. Sideshow Collectibles unveiled a pair of Norse piece in the works. The Thor Premium Format Figure stands 20-inches tall and comes with the iconic Mjolnir, but if you get the Sideshow exclusive, you can also display Ragnarok, the sword. But that’s not all, they also show some love to Throg, the Frog of Thunder, thanks to a new, 6-inch diorama featuring everyone’s favorite amphibious god-like being. Thor Frog hits in October while the regular Thor ships next March.

TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON | Even though we’re getting closer to the June 27th release of the fourth Transformers movie, “Age of Extinction,” Sideshow Collectibles and Prime 1 Studio still have a few goodies based on the previous film, “Dark of the Moon.” Take this nearly 28-inch tall Optimus Prime statue for example. The piece comes with two energy swords, the Valiant shield, an energy axe, two different heads, the Mega Striker and LED functionality. Plus, the Sideshow exclusive version boasts the Brute Shotgun to really round out the arsenal.

SHERLOCK | Over the past year or so we’ve seen bits and pieces of Big Chief Studios’ in-production “Sherlock” figures. Now the company has pre-production sample images up on their Facebook page. Based on the wildly popular BBC series, the toys look just like stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, and also come with appropriate accessories like Sherlock’s violin and Watson’s gun.

GODZILLA | Aside from rugged good looks, one of Godzilla’s most prominent features has always been the atomic fire breath. S.H. MonsterArts captures that ability in the August-shipping Godzilla 1995 (Birth) action figure from Bluefin Tamashii Nations. Based on the kaiju’s appearance at the end of “Godzilla vs. Destroyah,” the piece also comes with poseable fire breath!

LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS | After four previous entries, Princess Zelda will finally take her rightful place in First 4 Figures’ line of “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess” statues. Based on the character’s appearance in the 2005 Wii game, Zelda stands 17 inches tall and comes with her trusty sword. The 2500-piece run will start shipping at the end of the year.

S.H. FIGURARTS | Bluefin Tamashii Nations announced a pair of new S.H. Figurarts anime heroes getting the import-treatment. First and foremost, Naruto will hit in August. Based on the character’s appearance in “Naruto: Shippuden” the figure comes with four faces, 11 hands, two kunai and Rasengen-replicating parts. Meanwhile, the Sailor Squad will finally get filled out with its first member in Sailor Jupiter come August. The figure comes with her own interchangeable parts including new hair pieces, some of which are actually articulated.

STAR WARS | Over the years, Kotobukiya has sold a variety of Star Wars-based silicon ice cube trays featuring everything from R2-D2 to the Death Star. When we saw the Jabba the Hutt mold appear on their Facebook page, we weren’t immediately sure if it was a gag or not until we checked the calendar.

DC COLLECTIBLES | Finally, DC Collectibles came out swinging for April Fool’s Day this year with not one but eight gag offerings posted on their Facebook page. From Alfred E. Neuman as Wonder Woman and the six foot tall Aquaman Scribblenaut to the Ma Hunkel prop replica helmet and the Superman cape/apron combo, these are offerings we could see actually hitting shelves at some point in the near future.